In My Veins
by KaylaMiller
Summary: if you spend too much time flirting with the past, you run the risk of cheating yourself out of your future. JATE AU
1. Prologue

**In My Veins- Jack and Kate**

**Authors Note**: _Hey guys, alright so I'm completely aware that I said I wasn't going to write anymore stories for these two, and when I said that I fully intended not to write anymore, but I was on vacation and I guess I sort of dreamt up this idea, and it wouldn't stop nagging at me, so I decided to run it by a few people and they told me to write it, and here we are. The story is very different from every other story that I've written for two reasons, one; it wont be so bubble gummy, and two; it's going to be Kate's journey, where as my other stories are sort of Jack's. So it's something pretty different for me, kind of a challenge, I don't know if I can do this well, but hopefully you'll stick around to see. Also I'm going to put a song at the start of every chapter that inspired the theme of the chapter, just because the only thing as great as Jate is music right? _

I do not own lost, or anything else.

* * *

**Prologue- Those Nights**

_Stay up late and we'd talk all night  
In a dark room lit by the TV light  
Through all the hard times in my life  
Those nights kept me alive_

-Those Nights, Skillet

When were kids we believe that the world is this magical and safe place, and there's nothing out there that can hurt us, that naive feeling that tells us were completely invincible. We can do or be anything we want, you want to be a doctor then you're a doctor, you want to be a princess, you can be a princess. You've got your whole life ahead of you and you have all these plans, you know exactly what you're going to do, every next move you'll make. Then comes that first moment, that first horrible thing that happens to you and the pain you feel makes you snap out of the fairytale and pushes you into reality, where the world is scary and unpredictable and you can bet its going to throw you around, you realize that your not a princess and all those plans, there just plans and everything can change in a instant.

For Kate Austen that moment was March 23, 1994 and she was 17 years old. She had spent the night at her boyfriends house, Zack was Kate's best friend in the world, if she was being honest her only friend. She knew he was always there for her; he was the only person in her life that hadn't managed to let her down. She felt his warm hand lay softly on her arm, and she smiled as she opened her eyes to see him, then she looked at the clock, it was 3:30 am and she gave him a questioning stare, he gave her a small smile and held out the phone to her.

That phone call in the middle of the night changed Kate's life, it also informed her that her mother had passed away, the cancer she had been fighting had won out in the end.

* * *

A year passed since Kate lost her mom, and the one single reason why she managed to keep it all together, one reason; Zach. He'd been her rock during the funeral and continued that ever since. Kate was left with her Wayne, a man she couldn't stand but found out shortly after her mom's death that he was her father.

He came stumbling in the house at night, his breath smelled of whiskey and his clothes smelled like smoke, Kate walked over to him, throwing his arm around her shoulder to help him find a chair before he fell over

"How much have you had to drink?" Kate asked, as she let him slide into the chair

Wayne grabbed her arm with a firm grip and pulled her down to him "You are beautiful" He slurred

She yanked her arm away, his fingers left red marks on her skin from the grip he had on her, she started to walk away, when his drunken voice called her back

"Katie, make me something to eat" He demanded

She sighed "I have homework to do, find something to eat"

He stood up abruptly and walked over to her, grabbing her wrist and slamming her against the wall, "What did you just say?" He yelled, his breath hitting her and making her sick inside

"Wayne, please I have a big chemistry test tomorrow, I need to study" She pleaded, wincing as he twisted her wrist

The next she felt was his hand come across her face, and then she was thrown across the room, she lost her balance and tumbled down on the floor, hitting her head against the counter on the way down. She quickly got up and ran out the front door as fast as she could, she ran and ran until she finally got to his house, knocking on the door, praying someone would answer at this hour of the night, relieved she saw a light go on and seconds later the door opened

"Katie?" He whispered, trying to wake himself from his sleep

When he took a better look, he saw that tears were pouring down her face, blood from her lip mixed with her tears, she had a bruise on her cheek, and she was shivering, he brought inside and wrapped one of his jackets around her

"What happened, Katie? What did he do?" He asked softly, rubbing his hands up and down her arms

She shook her head furiously and he kissed the side of her head and stood up to get her a wash clothes for her lip, he came back, leaning so he was in between her legs, he brought the damp clothes up to her lip dabbing lightly at the blood, when he was satisfied, he tossed it aside and brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly

"Come on, let's go upstairs" He said, knowing she wasn't going to tell him anything tonight, he led her to his room, and laid down next to her on his bed, wrapping his arms around her she snuggled into him

"I love you" He whispered as he drifted off to sleep

Kate lay there watching him sleep, she thought about her mom and about the plans that they both made for her, find someone who loves her, graduate high school, get out of this town, go to college, get married. She knew she already had the first part done with Zach, and she was about 2 months from graduating high school and she wished her mom could be there, she knew she'd be proud. That plan was all that Kate had left of her mother, and she swore that she would follow that path, that road because she believed that it mattered to her mother that she followed it, so Kate blocked out everything else, everything around that wasn't on that road, was simply a blur to her.

**End Note:** Okay, before anyone asks this, I promise you it is a Jate fic; it's just that Kate needs to go through some things first, let me know what you think, should I keep going with this one?


	2. It takes a man

**Authors Note:** _Hello again, thank you all so much for the reviews, i really do appriciate them a lot. I'm sorry for the wait for this chapter, i was in a car accident on my way home from vacation and i was pretty rough, but i'm feeling a little bit better now and i wanted to update. it's still completely about Kate in this chapter, i hope you guys enjoy it._

_i do not own lost, or the song._

* * *

**Chapter One- It Takes a Man**

_I could see my future change  
and my heart hit like a hammer  
and my thoughts were running wild  
any fool can make a baby, it take a man to raise a child. ;__It Takes a Man- Aaron Lines_

We, as humans experience all kinds of emotions, we feel love and happiness and despair. There's just one emotion that's permanent, and that's fear. Fear is always there, when you feel love, you fear you'll lose it. You feel happiness but fear the unknown and you feel despair and fear things won't ever get better. We fear not being accepted and so we don't let anyone see who we really are. We fear not being good enough so we mold ourselves into what we think the world wants us to be. We don't realize that by doing this, were cripple ourselves from everything that life has to give us, we unable our true selves from shinning through, and when you look back on your life you're going to wish that you hadn't let fear determine the life you've lived.

They were lying in his bed, her head on his chest as his fingers played in her dark hair. She knew that eventually she would need to tell him but she didn't want to ruin this moment by being honest with him, or at least that's what she told herself, in reality she was just afraid. Afraid of what he would say, afraid of what this meant, terrified she would lose him. Instead she just curled up next to him, enjoying a little bit of quiet before they had to go to school.

She couldn't focus in any of her classes, she couldn't fight the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach, she had to tell him and he loved her, he would understand she thought to herself. Now she was in her favorite class, writing. Kate always knew she wanted to be a writer, she would write a best selling book and she would leave this town and she would never have to feel the pain this place brought to her again.

"Katherine, can I talk to you for a moment?" Her teacher called when the bell rang and everyone was leaving the room

Kate walked over to the desk, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously "What is it?"

"That paper you submitted the other day, the one on teen pregnancies" He spoke "The local catalogue wants to put it in their next issue"

She was shocked, she wrote that paper the might she found out, and as a last minute entry handed it in because she didn't have the time to write her original idea down, she never thought it would matter to anyone else "How?"

Smiling he replied "You're a fantastic writer Katherine but you don't believe in yourself, I wanted to show you that you can, now I don't know where the inspiration came from but don't be afraid to use it"

Kate smiled at him shyly, and agreed to let the catalogue use her essay. She walked out into the hall, moving towards her locker, when a pair of arms snaked around her waist

"The whole school is talking about you" Zach whispered in her ear

Kate looked confused "Why?"

He laughed "Your paper, congratulations Katie"; he leaned down to give her a quick kiss

"Thanks" She smiled

He grabbed her hand and held it tightly with his own as they walked down the hall "Just don't leave me when you're a famous writer okay?" He teased, nudging her shoulder

"I would never leave you" She said, suddenly serious "Would you leave me?"

Zach sensed the seriousness behind the question "I'm not going anywhere, I promise"

Kate still looked unsure, and he leaned down to kiss her again, mumbling an 'I love you' against her lips

"Can you meet me at the library after school?" She asked

Zach smiled "I'll see you there"

With that they separated and made their way to their next class. Tonight at the library, she would tell him then.

* * *

She waited at the back of the library, tapping her fingers against the table because she was nervous, she felt like she had been waiting for hours when in reality she'd just gotten there herself. She heard footsteps coming towards her and looked up to Zach leaning down to kiss her head softly before taking the seat next to her.

When he sat down he noticed a tear on her cheek "What's wrong?"

She gave him her best smile "We need to talk, Zach"

Giving her a questionable look, he took her hand in his "What is it? What's going on Katie?"

"I'm really scared" She mumbled, looking away from him, the tear sliding down her cheek

He rubbed his thumb over her hand, his voice soft and concerned "Whatever it is, we can get through it, okay?"

Kate shook her head "Don't hate me, for loving you okay?"

"Katie, you're starting to freak me out, what is it?" He asked, his heart beating fast in his chest

She took a deep breath and looked in his blue eyes "You're going to be a dad"

It felt like room was spinning as the minutes went by without any words, Zach's head was pounding "You're pregnant?" He managed to get out "Are you sure?"

Kate nodded her head, another tear running down her face, Zach, pulled her closer to him "Don't cry, Shh it's okay, we'll get through this together"

"You're not mad at me?" She asked, her green eyes watery and scared

"This mistake was just as much my fault as it was yours" He answered

_Mistake?_ Kate thought to herself, was it a mistake, the words he said next made her forget about it "We're in this together"

She smiled, and kissed him gently, pulling apart he said "Once you get the abortion it will all be over"

She let out a breath, and she her head in anger, grabbing her bag she ran out of the library. Zach chased her out, catching up with her outside, it was getting dark now, and it was raining, heavily, her clothes soaked from the few minutes she was out there.

He ran up to her, grabbing her arm to turn her around, the tears were pouring down her face now, or maybe it was just the rain, her voice came out jagged "I can't have an abortion Zach!"

"What about school Katie, what about our dreams, we can't be parents, I can't be a dad!" He yelled back

She held back a sob, as she pushed his chest away "Get through this together huh?"

"I didn't think you would actually want to keep the baby!" He yelled

She whipped at her tears "Maybe this is for the best, maybe it's supposed to be this way"

He took a step back, raising his voice even higher "Jesus Christ Kate, do you even hear yourself!"

She bent down to her knees with her face in her hands, sobbing, the rain pouring down on her, he stood beside her, calming his tone "If you want to keep it, there's nothing I can do about it, but I can't be involved, I don't want this"

"You don't want this!, you're a coward" She yelled through the tears, punching his chest with her fists as she stood up "I hate you" She mumbled

He took her wrist in his hands, stopping her "I'm sorry, Katie"

With that he left her in the rain, and speed out of the parking lot.

_hit the button. :)_


	3. I Will Not Say Goodbye

**Authors Note:**_ thank you for the reviews guys, i think this note should be dedicated to the fact that the emmy's suck big time, what do you think?, Lost was totally and completely robbed. Moving on, umm this chapter is the last one that takes place in the past, and we finally get a little glimpse of, in my opinion "the best lead actor in a drama series" ;) lol. I have to thank the damon to my carlton/ carlton to my damon, Mari, i love you. :), also i think if you guys don't know this song, you should check it out because it's just amazing, okay; here it is guys, i hope you like it :)_

_I do not own lost, or the song._

* * *

**Chapter 3- I Will Not Say Goodbye**

_I'm supposed to be strong, I'm supposed to find a way to carry on_  
_and I don't wanna feel better, And I don't wanna not remember,_  
_i will always see your face, In the shadows of this haunted place_  
_i will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky_  
_but I will not say goodbye - Danny Gokey; I will not say goodbye._**  
**

The events of the night repeating themselves in his mind, the pounding notion in his head getting increasingly worse, each time making him press on the gas a little harder, the rain was pouring harder now and at this time of night, he could barely see a few feet ahead of him. Kate's words ringing in his head, the look in her eyes when he left making his heart ache in his chest. He never wanted to be the reason for any pain that she had to go through but this, a baby, it scared the hell out of him. The longer he drove, the more his heart pushed his head out of the way and it eventually caused him to reach inside his jacket and grab his phone, quickly dialing her number, and waiting for her to pick up, except she didn't so instead he sighed heavily and waiting until after the beep…

After leaving his message, He snapped his phone shut, blinking away the tears in his blue eyes, as quickly as he blinked, the flashing lights in front of him came into view, and the sound of a loud horn hit his ears, the next thing he saw, was just black.

Kate was sitting upstairs in her bedroom, she'd just taken a shower to try and rid herself of everything that happened that night. She stopped in front of her mirror, bringing her hand to her stomach, she smiled. She was going to keep this baby, with or without Zach and she would be a good mom she decided. Her thoughts were interrupted by Wayne's drunken voice from down the hall

"Katie, the phones for ya" He slurred

She walked out into the hallway and took the phone back into her bedroom, she put it to her ear, and heard a muffled voice come through the line

"Katie, it's Ms. Lewis there has been an accident" The women said, her sob coming through and causing her to stop and compose herself

Kate swallowed a lump in her throat "An accident? What happened?" She asked nervous of the answer she was going to receive

"It's Zach, he, he" She sobbed, her voice coming through thick and Kate could barely understand her "He's gone Katie, my baby…" She trailed

Kate couldn't speak, she didn't know what to say, her mind took her back to this phone call about a year ago, when they told her that her mother was gone. Tears filled her eyes, taking just seconds to pore over onto her cheeks, she was frozen in her place, as Zach's mom took her through the details of the accident. The call lasted just about 10 minutes, that's it. Just 10 minutes, that's what it took for Kate's entire world to fall apart, again.

She laid there in her bed for hours, crying and asking herself why this happened. She didn't understand why these things kept happening to her, maybe it was something she did, and if it was, god she wishes she could take it back, she bargained with god, she apologized for whatever she'd down to deserve this. Then she was angry, angry at herself for letting him walk away, or for getting him angry in the first place, than she was angry at him, for being so clueless, for not driving carefully in these conditions, she wanted to yell at him, but she couldn't, because he was gone. He wasn't ever coming back.

Eventually she cried herself into a restless sleep, her eyes opened again glancing at the clock, the red numbers reading 4:36, she rolled over and stood to get out of the bed, and walked over to the bathroom, feeling like she was going to be sick. When she returned to her bedroom she noticed her cellphone on the dresser, picking it up in an angry rush, she was about to shoot it at the wall in front of her, but thought twice when she saw the red light blinking, she had a message.

She slowly opened the phone, and listened to it, her eyes filled with tears the moment she heard his voice come into her ear,

" Katie, I know you probably don't want to ever see me again, I would understand, I was a jerk and I'm so so sorry. I got scared but I want to talk about this, I love you and I'm going to be there for you, and for the baby, if you'll let me, I never want to leave you, I promise if you can give me another chance, you'll never be alone in this, please Katie, call me back, I love you"

Then the beep sounded and the operator came on the line "End of message, press 1 to delete this message, press 2 to hear it again"

Kate laid her head down on the pillow, the phone still pressed to her ear as she cried as she pressed 2, again and again.

* * *

It had been two days since Kate received the phone call that took Zach away from her. She visited his mother everyday since then, she seemed to find the idea of Kate pregnancy a way of making her feel close to her son. Today, Kate stood in her room, dressed in a black dress, Today was the day she had to say goodbye, the day they were going to bury in the ground.

His mother asked if she would say something at the funeral, in memory of what Zach meant to her, and Kate couldn't bring herself to say she couldn't. She tried to write something down to say but the words just weren't coming, she decided to just say what she was feeling as she stood there today instead.

There was a great deal of people that showed up, all of Zach's family was there, and some teachers from their school. She even recognized some of the kids that came from school, kids that she'd never talked to before, kids she knew didn't even give Zach the time of day, but she didn't question it, she didn't have the energy to think about them, not today. Today she said goodbye to her best friend.

She stood up in front of all those people, and started to speak " Zach was, he was my best friend in this world, he was truly a special person, and we were all so lucky to have known him" She said, struggling to keep her emotions in check "He had this way about him, that always managed to make you feel….safe." She said, her eyes filling with tears "and I don't know how I'm ever going to feel that way again, most of you here, know that I'm pregnant, I'm carrying his baby" She said, letting the first tear fall and placing her hands over her stomach "Zach would have been such an amazing father, and I, I hate that, that chance was taken away from him, that our baby will never get to feel the love he would have given her…" She trailed off, letting the uncontrollable sob take over, and without asking her mind, her feet started to move, running away from the people and his lifeless body in that coffin, she couldn't do this, she didn't know how to say goodbye, she didn't want to.

She ran until she reached the destination she didn't know she was running towards, and then she stopped. She was in the middle of the woods, surrounded by tress, her and Zach used to come here all the time, whenever they needed to get away from reality. She walked over to the tree to her left, and gently ran her fingers over their initials carved into the bark, she smiled a teary smile as she remembered that night, and he'd kissed her for the first time that night.

"Why did you leave me?" She whispered, wiping at her tears

She traced the letters one more time and turned around to sit on the log next to the tree, burying her head in her hands and letting the tears flow out. She brought her head up, sitting straight, glancing around, suddenly as if her eyes were deceiving her, he was there. Standing with his hands buried deep in his pockets, that small smirk of a smile he wore around her, she stood up and took a step closer to him, unable to speak, she stared and took another step, she reached out her hand to touch him, but was snapped out of it by someone coming up from behind her

"Katie, are you okay honey?" It was Zach's mother, looking concerned

Kate looked back at her with a small nod, then back to the place where he was, except he was no longer there, Kate cursed herself for thinking he was real, of course he wasn't real, he's gone she tried to tell herself.

* * *

She went back to school the week after his funeral, everyday she had to walk into that classroom and she that his seat was empty, broke her heart. They offered to simply remove the desk, but she didn't want that either. She thought about that day a lot, the day she saw him in the forest, but she never did see him again after that.

That is, until the night of graduation. The night that was supposed to be important and life changing for her. The night they were supposed to run away together and never look back at this town that brought them so much pain. She walked up the stairs and accepted that piece of paper that tells you, that you finally did it. Zach's mom was there to cheer her on, because Wayne was already drunk and passed out, not that she really wanted him to be there. The two people she wanted there, could never be.

She didn't go to the dance after to celebrate like all the others did, instead she walked to the woods, to the spot she'd last seen him. She sat on the same log, and looked up at the sky

"Well, I did it Zach" She said "I've got this meaningless piece of paper, but now it just doesn't matter, cause the only thing I want is you"

She shot the diploma at the ground, closing her eyes and letting the tears fall down her face, her head resting against their tree beside her, she heard a noise, something that sounded like footsteps and she opened her eyes, blinking, feeling as though her eyes were deceiving her, this cant be real, he cant be real, he's gone, and yet there he was, the same way she'd seen him before, but this time he was closer "Zach?" She whispered

He bent down to pick up the diploma and looked at her "_What's this doing on the ground_?"

Kate laughed through her tears "What's the point?" She said, taking it from him

He reached out and touched her arm, and somehow she felt it "_You've wanted to leave this place since I met you Katie, and now you can_"

Kate stood up and shook her head "Not without you Zach", tears were spilling over her freckled cheeks

He stood up with her, and reached to wipe away the tears "_Yes, you can Katie, you have dreams, and you can be somebody, somebody so much bigger than this place_" He told her, bringing her into his embrace

"You were supposed to leave with me, we were supposed to do this together" She cried into his chest

"_I know, I wish I could go with you but that's not going to happen_" He said, running his hand over her back, then pulling back to look at her "_But that doesn't mean all those plans we had can't still come dream, for you_"

Kate smiled up at him, bringing her mouth to his, their lips barely touching as they kissed "_Go show the world who are you Katie, they'll love you as much as I do_"

And then he was gone. The next day Kate packed all her things into her car, and drove off, she didn't know where she'd go, she just knew she had to, for herself, for the baby and for Zach.

* * *

Roughly 8 months later, Kate found herself in an old apartment in downtown Los Angeles. It was late when she started feeling sharp fast pains across her extremely pregnant belly, she plopped down on her sofa, clutching her stomach, this was the next time she saw Zach, he always looked the same, never changed.

"_Katie, you're having the baby, you need to call the ambulance_" He told her, standing there in front of her

"I can't, I can't do this, I'm not ready" She groaned as another contraction hit

Zach sat down beside her "_You can do this, you're ready Katie_" He said calmly and she believed him

Reaching for the phone on the table, she looked up at him "I can't, can you call them?" She asked, holding her tummy tighter

He smiled sadly _"I wish I could, you have no idea how badly I want to be able to Katie, but I can't"_

Then she remembers, he's dead, and she fights the tears from her eyes, reaching for the phone again, this time she grasps it and dials the number. It was all a little bit of a blur after that, they rushed her to the hospital, and people were surrounding her, talking to each other saying things Kate didn't fully understand, and then the doctor in front of her told her to push.

She did, and then again. Zach was with her the whole time, holding her hand while she listened to everything the doctor said. A little while later, their baby cried for the first time. The doctor handed her to Kate

"It's a girl" He said, Kate looked down at this beautiful little girl in her arms, her daughter, and she cried, for the first time in her life, she cried just because she was happy.

She touched her daughter's nose, then looked up to where Zach was standing, but he wasn't there anymore, instead he was replaced by a nurse offering to clean the baby up.

* * *

**4 years later.**

Kate continued living in Los Angeles, she took a writing class on the weekends at night, so she could work as a waitress during the day and still have time to spend with her daughter.

Avryl Lewis –Austen was four years old now, Kate decided to give her Zach's and her own last name so that Avryl knew who her daddy was, She had his eyes, deep blue and every time Kate looked in them she saw Zach, and she had Kate's hair, dark brown and curly. She was in her first year of school and it was hard for Kate to leave her everyday with all the other kids, she worried more than most parents, but didn't see anything wrong with that.

Kate figured that when she was born, would be the last time she would see Zach. She felt as if he was there only when she needed him to be and other times she would need to learn to live on her own. That wasn't the case, after 5 years she still seen him every once in a while, when she was scared or lonely.

Kate was working at the diner while Avryl was at school when her boss called her over

"Kate, you have a phone call" She said

Coming around back to pick up the phone, it was Avryl's school, she had been playing outside at recess and fell from the monkey bars. Kate immediately rushed over to the school

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?" She said, dropping to her knees to embrace the little girl with tear stained cheeks

"It hurts mommy" She cried

She decided to bring her to the hospital, just to be safe. Feeling like she had been waiting for hours, she stood up with Avryl in her arms, luckily she spotted a man with baby blue scrubs come walking towards her

"Excuse me" She said, causing the man to turn around and look at her "Can you help us"

The man started to speak but she cut him off again "She fell off the monkey bars at school, I just want to make sure she's okay"

The man looked at the little girl "I'm not really on clinical duty, but I'm sure a doctor will be with you soon" he told her

He turned to walk away but she touched his upper arm "Please" She pleaded

The man looked over at Avryl, trails of tears still visible on her cheeks, she gave him a toothy grin and he smiled back at her "Okay, come on I'll check her out"

Kate smiled brightly at him "Thank you Dr…" She trailed

"Shephard, I'm Dr. Shephard" He told her, offering her a warm smile as he guided them into an examination room


	4. You Give Me Something

**Author's Note:** _thank you for reviews guys, they mean a lot. I actually like this chapter because i finally get to write some Jack, whoa! lol. I'm sorry that it took this long to update, i started university last week, my first year and i'm still getting used to the changes and intenseness. lol. but i will try my best to update more regularly from now on. ;) anyways this chapters pretty fluffy, because well i think that kids and Jack together, is just the fluffiest combo you can have. hope you enjoy the chapter. :)_

_

* * *

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**Chapter Four**- **You Give Me Something**

_For every piece of me that wants you, another piece backs away_

_You give me something, that makes me scared alright_

_This could be nothing, but I'm willing to give it a try_

**_-_**_James Morrison; You give me something_

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance. Nothing happens from luck. Everything, even the tiniest of things, happen with a meaning attached to them. Most of the time, the meanings are unclear while their happening, and you don't realize it till later. It's always the simple things that change your life, and these things never happen, when you're looking for them to, they come up and throw you off your guard, they sneak up on you when you don't expect them. That's the way life works, it gives you the answers but only at the pace it sees fit, life strolls when you want to run. Sometimes if you slow down, you find something worth stopping for.

They followed the doctor into the first room on the right, Kate set her down on the bed, and stood beside her, waiting while the doctor looked at something by the desk

He turned around and faced the little girl "Can you tell me what happen to your arm?" He asked, his voice soft and gentle

She looked up at him, shaking her head as her lip started to tremble, Kate decided to speak up "She's a little afraid of doctors" She said

Dr. Shephard looked at her and gave her a slow nod, then bent down to the little girls level, smiling at her

"Ok, I know this is scary, and you don't know me, and you don't want to tell me what happen" He said "So let's start over, ok"

The little girl looked up at him with a tiny nod of her head, and he smiled at her

"Ok, can you tell me your name?" He asked

"Avryl" She mumbled, looking down at her shirt, she was clutching in her hand

"Avryl, that's a pretty name" He smiled at her "I'm Jack" He told her, holding out his hand in front of her

Slowly she let go of her shirt, and put her tiny hand in his "Hi Jack" She said, smiling at him for the first time

Jack sat down beside her, looking down at her, seeing she was still uneasy he said "Is there anything you'd like to ask me Avryl?"

She seemed to think about this for a minute and then raised her eyes to his "Are you going to give me a needle, this big?" She asked, making a large gap with her fingers to show 'how big'

Jack chuckled "Nope, I don't think you're going to a needle, Avryl"

"Promise?" She asked, holding out her little finger in front of him, he laughed and wrapped his larger finger around hers gently, looking up at her mother who was watching them the whole time, a small smile placed on her face

"I promise, sweetie" He said, and added "So, are we friends now?"

Avryl's face lit up and she nodded her head "You're the biggest friend I have" She told him, making him chuckle

"Good, Now can you tell me what happen to your arm?" He asked, standing back up in front of her

He was expecting a simple answer, that's not what he got.

"We were playing on the jungle gym at recess, and Shelby, she's mean to me" She babbled, causing Jack to smile at her, folding his arms and listening to her continue to talk "Shelby said that I couldn't do the monkey bars all the way to the end, but I said that I can, and she dared me, she called me a chicken"

Jack ran his hand threw his hair, looking over at Kate with a lopsided grin, she just shrugged her shoulders and smiled back, then he returned his attention to the little girl, telling him her detailed story

"So then I made it all the way to the number five, I never made it that far before, but then I fell, it hurt really bad" She finally finished

The doctor look down at her, and smiled at her, once again "Shelby doesn't sound too nice, but I bet she's just jealous of you" he winked at her

Avryl blushed as she snorted out a small laugh, Jack looked back over at Kate, confident the little girl was no longer afraid of him, their eyes met and without knowing why, neither of them could bring themselves to look away. Her eyes were deep green and bright, Jack thought they looked amused.

Pulling his eyes back down to the little girl, he coughed himself out of the trans "Well cutie, I don't think you're arm is broken, but I'm going to put it in a sling, just to make sure everything heals up alright, ok?"

The little girl nodded, "Can people still sign a sling?"

Jack chuckled "Of course they can" He told her, walking to the cabinet, and bringing the sling back over to her, putting it around her neck and watching her examine it, smiling up at him after deciding she liked it

Kate came over to them, and rubbed her hand over Avryl's hair "Look at that baby, you're very first sling" She said kissing her hair

Jack looked at Kate "I don't think there much to worry about, bring her back in a week, and we'll check to make sure everything is good, okay?"

Giving him a small nod "Thank you so much for this Dr. Shephard, I guess I was a little panicked, Thank you" She smiled at him

"It's not a problem, and you can call me Jack" He gave her a small smile, receiving a nod from her

Avryl picked this moment to chime in "Jack, you're my biggest friend, can you sign my sling?" She asked, looking down at it

Looking around for something to write with, he bent down and scribbled something down on her sling, and she looked at him with a big smile on her face, and telling her mom to look, then she climbed off the bed

As they were leaving Kate turned around to Jack "We'll see you next week, Jack"

Then they were gone. Jack smiling to himself as he made his rounds.

* * *

"Mama, do we get to go see Jack today?" The little girl asked, shoving a spoon full of cereal into her mouth

Kate smiled as she took a sip of her coffee, Avryl had been talking about her new "big" friend since they left the office that day, she showed everyone they talked to that he signed her cast, and no one was allowed to sign around it, it was like there was an invisible bubble there protecting his writing "Yes baby, we are" Kate answered

They walked into the hospital, up to the desk, Kate smiled at the women sitting behind it "We're here to see Dr. Shephard" She stated

The women looked them over, " is busy right now, but I'm sure we can find someone to look after you" She said

Kate was about to interrupt but she didn't have to, she heard her daughter yelp followed by a gentle voice talking to Avryl, she turned around, seeing the man her daughter hadn't stopped talking about all week and smile

"I'll be taking care of this little one" Jack told the women at the desk, and started to lead the little girl to another room

Once they were inside, Jack lifted her up onto the table "How are you doing Avryl?" he asked

"Good" She replied simply

Kate took the opportunity to chime in "You've been her favorite subject all week, she thinks you're the coolest thing since Hannah Montana" she told him, laughing at her words

The doctor chuckled, looking down at the adorable little face staring up at him "Well, I think you're pretty cool too" he laughed

He went back to looking at her arm "Has it hurt since last time you were here?"

The little girl shook her head "Does that mean it gets to come off, my birthday is tomorrow and I wanna play" She exclaimed happily

"I think we can throw this away" He said, tossing the sling on the table beside them "You're birthday huh?, how old are you going to be?" he asked with a smile

The blue eyed girl smiled widely "Imma be five!" she told him, holding up five of her fingers to his face

Jack smile "Wow, well I hope you have fun at your party" He told her, marking something on a sheet, then turning to Kate "She is just fine, everything healed properly, you have nothing to worry about"

"Thank you, Jack" She smiled

He returned her smile and added "It was nice meeting you Kate" He said turning to the little girl "And you too cutie"

He walked to the door and gripped the nod, when the little voice spoke up again "Momma, can Jack come to my party?"

Kate looked over at Jack, "Baby, He probably has other things to do tomorrow"

The little girl looked down at her hands, then back up at Jack with a pouty expression, which Jack noticed she mastered perfectly "But you said we were friends" she told him

"We are friends" He said, quickly

Avryl smiled slightly, but still had the heartbreaking expression on "Don't you wanna come to my party?"

Jack shifted on his heals, uncomfortably. She really was such a sweet little girl, and those big blue eyes were hard to turn down, without thinking he said "If it's okay with your mom, I would love to come to your party" He wondered if this crossed some sort of boundary

She threw her hands in the air "Can he Momma, please please please?"

Kate smile "Sure" She answered, looking over at Jack, she noticed he was a little uncomfortable, but it meant something that he didn't want to let her daughter down, so she smiled reassuringly at him

She wrote down her phone number and her address on a piece of paper, and handed it to him, Then she grabbed Avryl and walked out, once again.

* * *

Jack tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his car nervously, he didn't know what he was doing, he thought about not going, but then he thought of Kate having to explain why he wasn't there to Avryl, it was her birthday and she should get what she wanted right? So now he was driving to the address scribbled on the paper she'd giving him the day before

He arrived to a small house on the corner of the street, it wasn't the nicest house but it looked homey, he smiled at the thought. Getting out of his car and walking to the door, he felt his palms getting sweaty, why was he so nervous?

Knocking lightly, he was greeted by a smile from Kate "Hey, you came"

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and nodded his head, she let him inside and he heard a shriek come from the other side of the room "JACK!"

Avryl came running up to him, stopping at his toes "Come on, I wanna show you to my friends" She said, grabbing his hand in hers and attempting to pull him along

Jack laughed, and raised his eyebrows at Kate, letting the little girl pull him into the other room. Kate shook her head with a laugh and closed the door, following them.

When she entered the room, Jack was sitting on the floor with Avryl beside him and her talking away, Kate smiled and walked over to her one of her friends

"Who's that?" She asked

Kate looked over at her "That's the doctor I told you Avryl has been talking about all week"

The women looked over at Jack "I'd talk about him too" She said, winking at Kate

She laughed, hitting her arm softly "Jules!, he was nice to her, and she's pretty fond of him"

"And what about you?" Juliet asked

Kate looked surprised "What about me?" She asked

Juliet looked at her friend "Are you fond of this handsome doctor, sitting on the ground with your daughter?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders innocently "He's nice, I guess"

"I think that he's pretty fond of you" She answered

Laughing Kate replied "What makes you say that?" She asked, a light pink shade applying itself to her cheeks

"His eyes keep wandering this way" She told her, taking a sip from her cup and leaning into her friend "If you don't do something about that Kate, I will" She said, and took off towards the kids and Jack

Kate stood there watching her move towards the circle, an uneasy feeling in her stomach, what is wrong with me, she wondered, I don't care if Juliet goes after Jack, do I ? she wondered

After Avryl opened presents, to which Jack said he had one for later, they ate cake, and the kids parents started coming to pick them up. Jack walked over to Kate

"Hey" He said

She smiled "Hi, I hope this wasn't too painful for you"

He chuckled "You know, It was actually sort of fun" He said "She's a great kid"

"Thanks" Kate smiled again

Jack swayed on his feet, building up the nerve before he spoke again "Listen Kate, I could be way off base here, but would you like to, have coffee or something with me?" He asked, giving her a lopsided grin

Kate had to smile, his little grin was so contagious to her, she looked over his shoulder and spotted Juliet, who gave her a small wink, she laughed lightly and turned her attention back to Jack "You know what, I'd like that"

Jack breathed out and smiled "Okay"

"Okay"

Avryl then came over to them "What about my present Jack?" She asked,

"Right, it's actually down the street cutie" He told her, receiving a confused look from her

Juliet offered to clean up while Kate went with Avryl and Jack to where he supposed present was. They walked down the street till they reached the neighborhood park.

"This is the park!" Avryl exclaimed

Jack laughed "I know it is, I thought maybe we could to the monkey bars, together" He told her, and she grabbed his hand, dragging him along for the second time that day

"Ok, are you ready?" He asked, and received confirmation from her, he lifted her up and places her on his shoulders, bending himself so she wouldn't hit the bars, but instead could reach them easily, she gripped the first one, and he took a step each time she moved to grip the next one, she laughed happily, seemingly happy with the arrangement they had.

Kate watched them with a big smile, she knew that Avryl wasn't really climbing the monkey bars, but in the 5 year olds mind, she was.

"Look Momma, I'm doing it, look" She laughed

Kate smiled "Good job, baby"

As Kate continued to watch the two interact, she began to think that maybe Juliet was right, she could give this a shot. The moment she began to believe this, just over Jack's shoulder, she saw him.

Zach. He was standing there, watching them, a sad smile playing on his lips as he watched their daughter and a man he didn't know bond. The world around Kate stopped for a minute and she could just see him, feeling her eyes swell with tears, she shook her out of it, walking over to Jack, and pulling Avryl off his shoulders

"We really need to go, I'm so Jack" She said, before holding them young girl on her hip and walking off back to the sidewalk, Avryl fighting her the whole way.

Jack stood there, completely confused by the scene that just took place.

* * *

_So after all that cuteness, Kate kind of freaked out and ran away when she see's Zach. Are they still on for coffee? Will she tell him what happened, why she ran? i hope you liked this chapter._

_leave a review :)_


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